Defendants Who Have
Had Five Trials

Maricopa County, AZ

Robert Charles Cruz

Dec 31, 1980 (Phoenix)

Robert Charles Cruz was sentenced to death for the contract
murders of two people. Patrick Redmond, 46, and his
mother-in-law, Helen G. Phelps, 70, had been shot to death by three men in
Redmond's home. The assailants also shot Redmond's wife, Marilyn, but
she survived. Cruz had allegedly hired three men to kill Redmond
because he wished to take over Redmond's print shop, Graphic Dimensions. Prosecutors said Cruz wanted to use the firm to launder money from
connections in Las Vegas.

The evidence against Cruz came from a felon who received
immunity from prosecution in return for his testimony. On appeal, the
Arizona Supreme Court held that the trial court had demonstrated actual
prejudice against Cruz, and that the conviction could not stand. Two
subsequent retrials ended in hung juries, but a fourth trial ended again in
a conviction and a death sentence. Once again, however, the Arizona
Supreme Court found the conviction to be faulty and sent the case back for a
fifth trial. At this new trial, new evidence emerged about the
prosecutors' pressuring of witnesses and offering deals. The fifth
trial jury heard the whole story and acquitted Cruz of all charges. (State
v. Cruz) [7/05]

Los Angeles County, CA

Tony Cooks

Jan 19, 1980 (Paramount)

In 1980, eighteen-year-old Tony Cooks was accused of murdering
John Franklin Gould. Gould, 42, had been accosted by three black
teenagers one evening while he and his wife walked down a street near their
Paramount apartment. Gould was beaten, stabbed, and shot. Gould's wife
told police that the assailant was “a light-skinned black.” Police showed
her a photo-lineup in which Cooks was the only light-skinned black, and she
told police, “I can't be positive, but I think that's him.” However,
at trial, Gould's wife would positively identify Cooks.

Another witness, Helen Foster, who said she saw the nighttime
crime 177 feet from her apartment window, identified Cooks as one of the
assailants. Two days after Cooks' arrest, a 14-year-old youth was also
arrested after he confessed to his involvement in the crime; the youth then
accused Cooks as also being a participant in the crime. Based on these
identifications, Cooks was indicted for murder.

Cooks' first trial ended up in a hung jury; his second trial
ended in a mistrial; his third trial ended in a hung jury. Finally, at his
fourth trial, in 1981, Cooks was convicted of Gould's murder. However, the
trial judge expressed skepticism about the eyewitness identifications and
overturned the conviction. The prosecutor appealed the judge's
decision and an appellate court reinstated the conviction. The judge,
forced to pronounce sentence, ordered Cooks to prison for sixteen years to
life, but freed him on $5,000 bond pending appeal. On appeal Cooks won
the right to a fifth trial.

In 1986, at Cooks' fifth trial, it was revealed that the 14
year-old eyewitness against Cooks had told his probation officer that his
testimony was a “lie” he made up in order to satisfy a persistent detective
who would not take “no” for an answer. The fifth trial jury voted to
acquit Cooks. (Ramsey)
[10/07]

Cook County, IL

Cobb & Tillis

Nov 13, 1977

Perry Cobb and Darby Tillis (aka Darby Williams) were
sentenced to death for the murders of Melvin Kanter and Charles Gucciona. The murders occurred during a robbery of the victims' hot dog stand. The prosecution's key witness was a woman named Phyllis Santini, who claimed
that she had driven the getaway car for the two men. The defense
argued that Santini and her boyfriend, Johnny Brown, had committed the
crimes, and that she was framing Cobb and Tillis. The first trial
ended in a hung jury, as did a second trial.

At the third trial, a witness who had earlier testified that
he could not identify the defendants as the men he saw, suddenly changed his
story and now claimed that he saw Cobb and Tillis enter the store. This third trial in 1979 ended in convictions and death sentences. Judge Thomas J. Maloney presided over the three trials and has since been
convicted of taking bribes to fix murder cases. He was accused of
being tough on defendants like Cobb and Tillis who did not offer bribes. Maloney refused to allow two defense witnesses to testify. The two
claimed Santini had admitted committing the murders with Brown. The
two also said she expected a reward for her testimony against Cobb and
Tillis. (She was in fact paid $1200.) The Illinois Supreme Court
reversed the convictions based on limitations that were put on the defense's
ability to argue that Santini and her boyfriend were the true culprits.

While the parties were preparing for a fourth trial, Michael
Falconer, a recent law school graduate, happened to read an account of the
case in Chicago Lawyer. Falconer recognized Santini's name
because he had worked with her in a factory before going to law school. At that time, Santini had confided in him that she and her boyfriend had
committed a double homicide and that she was working with prosecutors in
return for a deal that would keep her from being charged. Falconer,
who had then become a Lake County prosecutor, testified about this
conversation at the fourth trial, which again ended in a hung jury. Finally, at a fifth trial in 1987, both Cobb and Tillis were acquitted of
all charges. (CWC1)
(CWC2)
(JP)
(PC) [12/06]

Orleans Parish, LA

Curtis Kyles

Sept 20, 1984 (New Orleans)

Curtis Kyles was sentenced to death for murdering Dolores Dye
during a car theft in the parking lot of a Schwegmann's Giant Supermarket. A man named Joseph “Beanie” Wallace claimed that he purchased Dye's stolen
car from Kyles after he was found driving around in it. Several witnesses
also testified that they saw Kyles at the crime scene. The defense called
this testimony into question and the jury in Kyles' first trial was hung. Upon retrial, Kyles was convicted, but this conviction was ultimately
reversed by the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that the prosecution had
hidden exculpatory evidence about changes in the witnesses' accounts and
about the corruption of the investigation. Had this material been disclosed
to the defense, it would validate Kyles' claim that Wallace and the New
Orleans authorities were framing him. The case was remanded for a third
trial, which ended in a hung jury, as did fourth and fifth trials. The DA
then conceded defeat and Kyles was freed in 1998. The case is profiled in
the book,
Desire Street by Jed Horne (2005) (TWM)
[7/05]

Kings County, NY

Vincent Rivers

Sept 16, 1978

“Vincent Rivers was convicted of murder in the second degree
in a Kings County retrial in [Nov. 1979], following [a hung jury mistrial]. He was sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison. [The victim, Dutch
Reid, was shot and killed at 2080 Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn.] A third trial
ended in a mistrial. A fourth trial [in 1983], at which Rivers was again
convicted of murder, was reversed because of numerous prejudicial errors by
the trial court. On July 17, 1986, following a fifth trial, Rivers was
acquitted on all counts.” – Inevitable Error
(Appeals)

Dillon County, SC

Warren Douglas Manning

Oct 29, 1988

Warren Douglas Manning was convicted of pistol whipping and
shooting to death George T. Radford, a state highway trooper. Manning was
sentenced to death. The trooper was shot at close range with his own
revolver. The defense argued that although the trooper arrested Manning for
driving with a suspended license, Manning escaped when the officer stopped
another car. The defense also claimed that if Manning had shot the officer,
he would have been covered in blood. Witnesses who saw Manning minutes
after the shooting noticed no blood on him. A retrial resulted in a hung
jury, but Manning was reconvicted at a third trial. This reconviction was
overturned and a fourth trial resulted in a mistrial. At Manning's fifth
trial, his new lawyer told the jury, “The law requires the state prove him
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Without that, the law says you cannot
find him guilty.” The fifth trial jury acquitted Manning of all charges.
[9/05]